Grandson of Irish dramatist has unearthed medical evidence in private family letters which points to likely cause of death

The sudden death of the wife of Oscar Wilde at the tender age of 40 has long been a mystery. In the 116 years since she met her tragic end, speculative theories have ranged from spinal damage following a fall down stairs to syphilis caught from her husband. Now the mystery may have been solved.

In letters from early 1930s to Edith Morpurgo, Fleming writes: 'I would like to hurt you because you have earned it'

It might sound more Fifty Shades of Grey than 007, but a series of letters by a young Ian Fleming to his Austrian lover see the man who would go on to create James Bond detailing how he would like "to hurt you because you have earned it and in order to tame you like a little wild animal".

By ELLEN GAMERMAN

One collector's love for presidential memorabilia lasted decades—and led to an indictment roiling a cloistered world..

At age 10, Barry Landau wrote a letter to Dwight D. Eisenhower, admiring his "very beautiful" wife and offering his assessment of where the general stood in the country's pantheon of great leaders. "I think you lived the most exciting and the most interesting life then [sic] any other President of our United States," according to a copy of the letter released by the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.